Thread by @FItradertom, So on the cusp of Don Arteta’s appointment I wrote a small [...]

So on the cusp of Don Arteta’s appointment I wrote a small thread pinpointing what I felt were the key areas that he’d need to address when he became @Arsenal manager

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- Sort the clubs internal issues out
- Develop our youngsters
- Address our woeful defence
- Identity https://twitter.com/fitradertom/status/1206826514349797376">https://twitter.com/fitradert...

https://twitter.com/fitradertom/status/1206826514349797376

Internal issues

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It’s incredibly clear that the days of players holding Arsenal to ransom are over. Mikel has made it clear from the get go that he will not tolerate anything but excellence on and off the pitch and that mentality has rang around the club since his appointment

Matteo & Mesut are two clear examples of that, Ozil has not bought into Mikel’s system & seemingly won’t commit to the intensity he demands and due to that he’s had no involvement

Matteo showed his age, was given a second chance but ruined his promising return over stubbornness

Arteta’s firm position on these issues have shown me you either buy into the project or you have no place within the squad

Remember these aren’t just squad players, Mesut is the highest paid player in the team & Matteo has been touted as one of the most promising mids in Europe

Develop the youth

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One thing we do owe to Mr Emery is uncovering the gem that is Saka aka little chilli

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Arteta has continued to help develop Bukayo by utilising him all over the pitch and having great success doing so

2G’s & 6A’s in all competition since Arteta took over

Mikel’s passion has clearly made it easy for some of the clubs brightest talents to buy into his vision and commit their futures long term to the club (Saka & Martinelli) tying those two down IMO should been seen as enough success from his first 6 months in charge

Tierney has come back from injury and been absolutely crucial to the team cementing his place in our defence

Both Mikel & Kieran have been vocal about the relationship between them both and how they both push and demand the highest workrate in training, on the pitch and off it

Eddie, Joe, Reiss all making appearances and trying to break into the first team whilst being given plenty of opportunity to do so

Address defensive issues

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By no means am I saying our defence has been fixed but you’d be a fool to not admit we’ve been much better since Mikel has taken over, Mustafi has been superb and when played in the correct system Luiz has been brilliant

The Tierney lovein was a couple tweets above in this thread and Hector has exceeded expectations after returning from a very nasty knee injury

The main issue was our defence was giving goals away and whilst under Mikel there was glimpses that this issues hasn’t gone for good

We have been so much better at the back in terms of shape, position and just defending overall

12 clean sheets in all competition since his appointment might not seem something to shout about but seeing as we couldn’t buy a clean sheet at the beginning of the season it’s a start

I think we’ve all had one eye on Saliba and have for the majority of this season so the introduction of a young tenacious CB who loves Arsenal is definitely exciting and Mikel’s nurturing man management should make this a match made in heaven

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Yes of course we need reinforcements and by no means am I saying he’s turned Mustafi & Luiz into peak Maldini and Cannavaro overnight but he has got them buying into his system / style of play and it’s worked for them to level we’ve not seen, especially Mustafi who has been solid

Identity

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This was the most important thing for me, I was sick of watching us week in week out and having no idea what type of system Unai was trying to play, going a goal down our heads dropping and then just being played off the pitch without a response

Arteta has instilled a workhorse like mentality into this side, no more are the days of going a goal down & fizzing out the game, we’ve shown resilience in tricky situations and most importantly shown an identity on the pitch with our pressing and balls in behind

It’s an exciting time to be #Arsenal fan, this season was our worst in a long time yet we’ve ended up with European football and a trophy

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We have a phenomenal young core and manager and I cannot wait to see how he develops this team over the summer

I truly hope he is backed by the board and allowed to bring in the players he feels will help his system!

In my original thread I spoke about expectations and this is something Mikel often eludes to as well, yes we’ve won the cup but we are still far from competing at the top

It’s important to not get carried away and understand we all want the club to get back to competing for titles but that is still a long way from happening

Enjoy this victory and see it as the first step on the path back to the top! #Arsenal #COYG #AFC

Have a great weekend Gunners and drink it in #14

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Have a great weekend Gunners and drink it in #14https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

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